A few months went by without much going on. Hara, Conna and I went back to our lives. Conna went to school, Hara worked and I was looking in the papers for a job. I tried not to think about how much I missed Fox and the others. Especially Falco. I found myself wondering how Wolf and Leon were doing as well. I hadn't heard from anybody during that time and it was kind of lonely without all of them around. Nevertheless, Conna and Hara tried to keep my spirits up despite me being jobless and cooped up at home all the time.

It was much later that I had received a call from General Pepper's secretary. The General requested my presence immediately. I was quite confused as to why the General himself would ask for me but, how could I possibly say no?

I arrived at headquarters a little early but was let in almost instantly. The General stood at one of his large windows in his even larger office, overlooking the city.

"General," his secretary announced. "Skye Kell is here to see you."

The General turned to face me. His grin was infectious.

"Ah, Miss Kell. Thank you, Sara. That will be all for now."

Sara took her leave and left me to the General. He stepped over to me.

"I'm glad you could make it, Miss Kell. I was almost certain you would decline my invitation."

"Of course not, it's an honor to be here, Sir," I assured him. "And, please, Skye will suffice."

"Duly noted, Skye. Please, come join me." He motioned to the window.

I moved to stand beside him as I took in the view. He probably had the best one in all of Corneria.

"I asked you here to offer you a job," he informed me.

I had to do a double take at the bomb he just dropped. All of this for a job offer?

"I don't understand, Sir… A job? For me?"

He chuckled. "Yes. I have a special task force in place in the event Star Fox can't come to our rescue. This force is meant to be an undercover operation, black ops, if you will. They do dirty jobs but still maintain the integrity of the military. It's not very often that they are sent off-planet but, I'm sure they could use someone like you in their ranks. Considering your loss a few months ago and Star Fox departing for missions, I figured now would be the perfect time to ask you."

I didn't know how to react. General Pepper himself was offering me a job. It was hard to believe but it felt amazing that he was doing this for me.

"General, I'm flattered and I couldn't be more thrilled. I would be an idiot to say no. Sign me up."

"Wonderful. I'll take you myself to meet the team."

I followed after him as he took me to the elevator and pressed the button to the basement. The doors opened and revealed an obstacle course, weight room and shooting range. Goodness knows what else was here. There were maybe only twelve people in these three areas. One of them was a shirtless Labrador lifting dumbbells. The General led me over to him.

"Channery, take a break and meet the newest member of your team," the General told him.

Channery gave me a sideways glance in the middle of his rep then did as the General ordered. He dropped the weights, wiped the sweat off his brow with a towel then threw on a shirt.

"Newest member?" he asked.

"Skye Kell, this is Clint Channery, Captain of this special ops force."

Channery's eyes widened. "Skye Kell? As in, Fox McCloud's sister, Skye Kell?" His surprise turned into disgust as he crossed his arms. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I see this is going to work out splendidly," I replied sarcastically, matching his venom. I turned to General Pepper. "I wasn't expecting everyone to already know who I am, General."

"Your reputation precedes you, my dear." He turned his attention back to Channery. "I expect you to accommodate, Miss Kell the best you can. She's going to be a permanent member for as long as she pleases. That's an order."

Channery glanced at me. "Even if she fails the trial?"

"If you think she won't make it, then do as you will. I can assure you, she will make it."

The General and Channery had a stare-down for a few moments. Channery finally let out a sigh.

"Well, Kell. Shall we get started?"

The General grinned. "I'll leave you to it then. Good luck."

He left through the elevator. It was just me and Channery. Well, sort of. When the General left, the other twelve people that I saw earlier finally came over and took an interest in me. The first thing I noticed, they were all men. I was going to be the only female in this motley crew. That alone was unsettling. The next thing I noticed, most of them looked more like football players than members of an elite task force. I really hoped they weren't expecting me to get that buff.

Channery crossed his arms then came to circle me. "So, Kell, tell me about yourself."

"What could you possibly want to know about me?" I spat.

"Strengths, weaknesses, family. Anything that you think would be important for me to know."

"I think you know about my family."

"Besides your brother and father."

"I have an adoptive daughter at home. And a roommate that is like a sister to me."

He paused when I mentioned Conna. "Adoptive daughter?"

The other guys exchanged glances.

"Uh, yes. I found her in an abandoned building after Andross's invasion. She was the only survivor."

He resumed his pacing. "Go on."

"As for my strengths and weaknesses," I continued. "I'm a decent pilot. I used to work for Craig and Melissa Masters at Gilford Station before it was shut down. I can handle a blaster. I'm not so good with hand-to-hand combat. If I was, a lot of things in the past would have gone a lot differently."

Channery stopped in front of me. "Your honesty is refreshing, Kell. I can tell you've got fire in your soul. I can also tell it's somewhat dimmed. You've had a loss recently, haven't you?"

My eyes widened at his speculation. "How did you…"

"You'll find that I'm very adept at reading people. That's the reason why I'm Captain."

I swallowed hard. Yeah… this wasn't an interrogation at all…

"Craig Masters was one of my best friends. His death was very hard on me."

He uncrossed his arms and put his hands on his hips. "Regret is not something we allow here. Whatever doubts and fears and frustrations you have, you need to let them go. We don't have time to wallow in self-pity. Is that clear?"

I looked up at him defiantly. "Crystal."

He turned to the other men. "Don't you all have something to do?"

They all took their time leaving us. Channery came back to me. "Training starts now, Kell. You better be ready."

~6 months later

I laid on the ground with a sniper rifle and my eye looking through the scope at the target that sat 1,000 yards away. Channery stood behind me with a pair of binoculars. I made the necessary adjustments, took my aim… Breathed in, breathed out… On my last exhale, I squeezed the trigger. I waited a few moments then heard Channery let out a low whistle.

"Damn, Kell. I pity anyone who is on the other side of that shot."

I got to my feet and he handed me the binoculars so I could see for myself. I was just a hair off from the exact center of the target.

"Damn it…" I murmured.

"I don't see why you're upset. That's impressive. Especially in the short time that you've been with us."

"I appreciate the reassurance, boss, but, it's still not perfect." I rubbed at my shoulder where the gun recoiled. "And the fact that I'm still not used to the kick-back is equally frustrating."

He rolled his eyes. "Gods forbid I give you a compliment and you actually take it for once."

It was obvious in the short months that I had been with Channery and the boys that I had completely earned their respect. Despite Hara and Conna having to nurse me after sparring matches and lessons in combat, Channery appreciated my determination. He also took the time to get to know me outside of my relation to Fox. I had learned from my talks with Channery that he was extremely uncomfortable around women. It was kind of adorable and hilarious at the same time. I told him that if it was easier for him, he could treat me like one of the guys. Needless to say, that meant that I got beaten up just as badly…

This new job also kept my mind off of Falco. No word came from him or Fox and it was probably better that way. The longer they were away, the easier it was to get back to me again.

Channery and I were walking back to base when he popped an interesting question.

"So, I have a proposition for you, Kell."

I arched a brow at him. "Proposition?"

"There's a formal function happening this weekend and the team is required to be there per the General's request."

"Oh, good grief. Are you seriously asking me to be your plus one?"

"Completely platonic," he quickly defended himself. "You see, I have quite a following when it comes to these parties and I'd rather not get swarmed by ravenous women."

I tried to keep from laughing but couldn't hold it in. I laughed even harder when I saw how uncomfortable Channery was with this conversation.

"You honestly think that bringing me with you will keep them away from you?"

"If they think I'm taken, then yes."

"You clearly don't know women very well. Besides, I can't have you taking me to anything formal without you meeting my daughter and roommate."

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack. Conna is the only one that can give the okay."

"Even if it's not a romantic endeavor?"

"It doesn't matter to her either way. Honestly, she'll probably be happy that you're not pursuing me that way. She has her heart set on someone else for me. You're off the hook in that department."

He looked almost relieved to hear me say that. Who knew that Mister Macho could be so nervous around women?

"Fine. Tomorrow night. I'll meet them tomorrow night."

I grinned. "Perfect. I'll have the girls make dinner. Don't worry, you'll love them."